Geographically, the area that the center sits on for the most part is desirable.  However, the substantial traffic volumes on Springfield Street and the traffic control at the intersection of Walnut and Springfield Streets creates congestion, poor traffic flow, resulting in poor traffic access and egress to the shopping center.

Inadequate parking for the specialty shops is a huge problem. It is further complicated by the lack of clear interior and exterior circulation patterns limiting the level of pedestrian activity, which is particularly significant for the smaller shops that depend on drawing from the larger anchor stores. The anchor stores that once existed, Food Mart and Zayres, are no longer there, making smaller stores almost impossible to draw shoppers. This shopping center was not designed to create a total shopping experience or to entice shoppers to go from one store to another. The tendency of users leans to a point of purchase only due to its alignment.

The Walnut shopping district clearly lacked planning and vision in its development. Unlike other community centers, the Walnut shopping center has a disjointed alignment with no coherence. It’s just a series of small strip centers with little to no relationship to one another, making marketability a near impossibility.

It is easy to see as the years developed how the shopping center has deteriorated. With the loss of anchor stores, its fractionalized development, with its mishmash appearance, lack of maintenance, poor landscaping, and littering problems created a vulnerability to stay competitive.

The future of the Walnut Street Shopping Center depends on some important issues:

1. Substantial traffic volume and congestion at Springfield and Walnut Streets. Coordination w/Mass Highway required.

2. Poor traffic access/egress, interior and exterior circulation patterns, along with pedestrian safety concerns. Coordination w/Mass Highway required.

3. Inadequate parking spaces for specialty shops must be addressed.

4. Strong anchor draws must be encouraged

5. Creation of a Merchant’s Association should be formed to create some curbside appeal i.e. facade and sign uniformity.

6. Zone changes will not determine the success or failure of this shopping center. The present merchants will not spend one penny to add on, reconstruct or reconfigure their buildings.

 

Soon Agawam will be introduced to a new plan for the Walnut Street Shopping District designed by the Pioneer Planning Division requested by the town through a grant subsidy. This project is just another attempt to mask the real issues concerning this area which will fall short of becoming any reality for success and become a total waste of money and time.

 

If the proponents this project had read any previous reports and/or studies of this area or had paid attention to their predecessors, they would have concluded as I have as previously stated: “Until we come to grips with the conditions that have existed for years which resulted in the deterioration of that shopping district in the first place, this area will never be the vibrant shopping district that it once was, and no amount of fluff will change that!” I am in hopes that the future will bring better vision and planning to this area.

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